02/10

Taking The Mickey

By Geisha Bar

It’s funny that old white men who no longer play or coach sports think that their input on current sports is important. Mick Malthouse, who firmly believes that Aussie rules is a “man’s game”, is the latest dickhead to try and throw in their 2c to complain about women playing the sport. Malthouse wants to see the players in skirts. Because, well, he’s old and irrelevant and sexist. Fuck you, Malthouse. And while we are here, WHY THE FUCK ARE MEN SO INSISTENT ON WOMEN WEARING SKIRTS AND DRESSES FOR SPORTS. Why do netball players still have to wear dresses? Are they unable to run and pass a ball in shorts? Seriously, on what planet is an obnoxiously short dress more practical to play netball in than shorts? Every netballer I have spoken to has expressed their wish for their uniform to be longer, more comfortable, and less self-esteem crippling. I can’t believe it is 2018 and women are still pressured to appear “feminine” and “attractive” while they bust their asses out there during a match. Even the supposedly “respectable” media outlets exploit this by serving up endless images of female athletes in action, showing them from angles which highlight their legs, asses or boobs in their stupid uniforms. It’s worth keeping an eye out for this – once you realise it, you’ll see it everywhere. That’s why it is so damn disappointing that Mick Malthouse just reconfirmed the obvious fact that in this country, men just do not respect female athletes. It’s fucking bullshit. Moana Hope’s statement that she was “embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated [and] disgusted” was just echoing what most women usually think constantly when they hear men, especially on public platforms, talking about women in general, let alone as athletes. The fact that men who were in the room at the time have jumped to Malthouse’s defence, brushing Hope’s anger off as unwarranted and overdramatic, is just the cherry on top. It must be hard for a sexist old white man to have a lowly woman walking out during his special time to talk. The world’s smallest violins play tonight just for you, Mick Malthouse.